From: UFO UpDates - Toronto <ufoupdates.nul>
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:38:52 -0400
Fwd Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:38:52 -0400
Subject: Alien Artifacts In The Solar System?




Source: FATE Magazine - Lakeville, Minnesota, USA

http://fatemag.com/issues/2000s/2005-11article1a.html

November 2005

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Alien Artifacts In The Solar System?
By Curt Sutherly

In late 1991 a strange object approached and passed within
celestial spitting distance of the Earth, causing surprise, and
some disquiet, among astronomers before vanishing back into the
depths of space. The object was catalogued as "1991 VG," and to
this day it remains a mystery.

Spotted on November 6, 1991, by astronomer Jim Scotti, 1991 VG
was initially thought to be an NEO=97a Near Earth Object, probably
an asteroid, of which there are many that periodically pass by
too close for comfort and of which the public is blissfully
unaware. At the time of discovery, 1991 VG was approximately
2,046,000 miles from Earth and heading inbound rapidly. Scotti,
who was tracking with the small Spacewatch telescope at Kitt
Peak National Observatory, Arizona, described it as a "fast-
moving asteroidal object."

Continued observation revealed that the object did not appear to
be an asteroid, or at least it didn=92t behave like one. For
instance, it had a tendency to "wink": to become roughly three
times brighter, then dark again, every seven and one-half
minutes, behavior akin to that of a rotating artificial
satellite. This led to speculation that 1991 VG was perhaps an
expended rocket booster drifting through interplanetary space,
maybe even an old Saturn V booster from the Apollo moon-launch
days of the late 1960s and early =9270s.

As the object continued to approach Earth, astronomers at the
European Southern Observatory (ESO) in La Silla, Chile, began
tracking with a 60-inch telescope. At this point, the media
became aware that something was going on and press statements
were issued. Meanwhile, the ESO team (astronomers Richard West,
Olivier Hainaut, and Alain Smette) conducted precise
measurements of the "winking" and confirmed that the phenomenon
was reminiscent of the pulsations of light observed on
reflective, rotating artificial satellites.

The mystery object came closest to Earth on December 5, 1991,
when it passed 51,000 miles beyond the orbit of the Moon, or a
distance from the Earth of about 288,300 miles, hardly any
distance at all when measured on an interplanetary scale. Then
it began drifting away. An estimate of the object=92s size
suggested a diameter of anywhere from 33 to 62 feet, small for
an asteroid but about right for an expended rocket booster or
possibly a large piece of spacecraft debris. Indeed, the object
was small enough so that it was visible only as a pinpoint of
light when viewed through the 2.9-foot-diameter Spacewatch
telescope.

Four months later, on April 27, 1992, now well away from the
Earth but following a path around the sun that was remarkably
similar to the Earth=92s orbit, 1991 VG was again detected by
astronomers at Kitt Peak, this time with a larger telescope. It
was to be the last reported sighting of the object before it
vanished from ground-based visual range.

Three years passed. 1991 VG was all but forgotten, at least by
the media. Then, in April 1995, a highly respected astronomer
and author published an article that not only re-opened the
debate about 1991 VG, but took the discussion to a whole new
level.

The astronomer was Duncan Steel, then associated with the
University of Adelaide in Australia, and today with the
University of Salford in the United Kingdom. His article, "SETA
and 1991 VG" (SETA referring to "Search for ExtraTerrestrial
Artifacts"), appeared in The Observatory, a recognized science
journal published in the UK.

In the article, Steel dared to suggest what other astronomers
had no doubt considered but were too guarded to openly discuss:
that 1991 VG might not just be artificial, but might, in fact,
be a probe of extraterrestrial origin!

Three Possibilities

Steel, who has a reputation for being painstakingly thorough,
was no less careful when stating his case for 1991 VG.

"The approach here," he said in the Observatory article, "is to
investigate the different probabilities for the nature of this
object, given our incomplete knowledge." He then cited three
distinct possibilities: "The first is that it [1991 VG] was a
natural asteroid=85the second is that it was a man-made spacecraft
[a spent rocket booster or an early probe launched into
heliocentric orbit]. The third is that it was an alien
artifact."

In considering the three possibilities, Steel said his "personal
bias" was that 1991 VG was artificial but "anthropogenic,"
meaning it originated on Earth. Using the available orbital data
and calculating backwards, he determined that the object was
last near Earth during February or March 1975, and before that
during the late 1950s. (With limited information concerning the
object, he was unable to be more precise about the earlier
date.)

Studying the early launch records, the astronomer found that
there were relatively few spacecraft that could conceivably
explain the existence of 1991 VG, and some of these were easily
eliminated. He cited seven robot craft launched from October
1958 to March 1960. They included the Pioneer probes 1, 3, 4,
and 5, and the Luna probes 1, 2, and 3. However, he pointed out
that these probes were "generally small objects," some of which
were known to have reentered the Earth=92s atmosphere, and one
(Luna 2) had by all accounts crashed on the Moon.

Moving forward, Steel eliminated the probe Luna 23, launched in
October 1974, which successfully landed on the Moon. There was,
however, Helios 1, launched into heliocentric orbit in December
1974, and the probe Venera 9, sent to Venus in June 1975. But
unless something had affected the trajectory of these two probes
and their boosters "such as radiation pressure or leaking fuel,"
Steel said it was unlikely they could account for the presence
of 1991 VG. (Expended boosters from the manned Apollo series
were not considered because the Apollo missions were flown
between October 1968 and December 1972, too early for the 1975
window of opportunity.)

Along with eliminating all known launches that fit his criteria,
Steel pointed to the exceedingly low odds of a returning
spacecraft or booster ever being detected by an instrument as
small as the Spacewatch telescope. He estimated the chances of
an accidental detection at no greater than one in 100,000 per
year.

Not an Asteroid

Steel next turned his attention to the idea that 1991 VG was a
"natural body;" i.e., an asteroid. He quickly eliminated this
possibility. In part, he based his rationale on the
aforementioned "winking," the regular light flashes exhibited by
the object, which he said were "distinctly similar to rotating
artificial satellite trails." He also noted that gravitational
forces arising from the closely aligned paths of the Earth and
1991 VG should have eventually kicked the object into an
unstable orbit. However, 1991 VG=92s orbit seemed inherently
stable, so he felt fairly confident that it was a new arrival
(in stellar terms) and therefore probably not an asteroid.

All of which left the scientist with only one other logical
consideration: that 1991 VG was an extraterrestrial probe or an
alien artifact of some sort. But if the object was truly alien,
then, said Steel, it begs the question: was it under control
when it passed by Earth or simply following a random path? In
other words, was it operational, or was it inert or a derelict?

Steel concluded his article by noting that a continual search of
the heavens should be made for other suspicious objects. In so
saying, he invoked a paradox originally put forth by the
brilliant physicist Enrico Fermi (1901=961954).

Simply put, the "Fermi Paradox" questioned the commonly held
belief that the galaxy, with its multitude of stars, must
inevitably have produced a multitude of advanced alien cultures.
Fermi wanted to know why, if these civilizations are so
unavoidable, we=92ve uncovered no evidence of them, such as
probes, spacecraft, or transmissions. He decided that the fact
that we haven=92t is paradoxical, thereby suggesting a flaw either
in our method of reasoning or in our observations.

Put another way, if extraterrestrials actually exist, would we
recognize one of their probes if it flew right by our planet?

New Object

Nine years after 1991 VG made its close approach to the Earth,
another unusual object drifted in from deep space. Discovered on
September 29, 2000, by astronomers David Tholen and R. Whiteley
at the University of Hawaii, the object was again presumed to be
a NEO=97an asteroid on a path that occasionally brought it near
the Earth.

Catalogued "2000 SG344," the object approached to within
4,800,000 miles of the Earth, or about 20 times farther away
than the distance from the Earth to the Moon. This was nowhere
near as close as the approach of 1991 VG, but again not all that
far on a celestial scale. The object appeared to be anywhere
from 98 to 230 feet in diameter, depending on whether or not it
was actually an asteroid and what type of material it was
composed of.

Despite its safe distance from our planet, there was some
concern that SG344 might hit the Earth at a future date. Initial
calculations bore out this possibility, suggesting a 1-in-500
chance of an impact in 30 years=97specifically, on or about
September 21, 2030. When this information was released to the
media (a premature move, according to some astronomers) it
caused an immediate uproar. It wasn=92t long, however, before
additional orbital data was available and statements about a
collision were revised and reduced. The new date for a possible
impact was September 2071, with the odds of a collision at that
time estimated at about 1 in 1,000. (No such concern was ever
raised about 1991 VG, which passed much nearer to the Earth but
was also smaller and therefore not taken seriously as a long-
term threat.)

In the midst of all the controversy about whether or not SG344
might someday hit the Earth, there occurred a striking instance
of d=E9j=E0 vu. As had been the case with 1991 VG, it was abruptly
noticed that SG344 was behaving less like an asteroid and more
like=85well, like something artificial. Said Donald Yeomans,
manager of NASA=92s Near Earth Object program at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California: "The orbit of
SG344 is so Earth-like, it makes you wonder if it came from our
own planet."

Additional Data

Checking earlier sky data, astronomers found "pre-discovery"
images of SG344 in a May 1999 photo archive. These images,
combined with the more current data, suggested that the object
was last in Earth=92s vicinity in 1971. The Apollo space program
was in full swing that year, so it was immediately apparent that
SG344 might be a spent rocket booster, most likely a Saturn IV-B
used as the third stage for a Saturn V Apollo launch vehicle.

However, David Tholen, one of the two discoverers of SG344, was
not so certain: "The only Apollo launches in 1971 were Apollo 14
and 15, but the S-IV-B stages from those missions crashed into
the Moon. The wild card is Apollo 12. Its S-IV-B stage
apparently wound up in an Earth-circling orbit. There is a
possibility that the Moon perturbed Apollo 12=92s S-IV-B into an
orbit around the Sun. In that case, the important time is not
when Apollo 12 launched [in 1969], but instead when the Moon
might have nudged the booster into its new orbit."

Tholen further noted that images of SG344 suggested an elongated
object, rotating about once every ten minutes. "That sure sounds
like the shape of a Saturn booster," he said. "But we=92ve also
found asteroids that match that description. "

Whatever it is, 2000 SG344 has an orbital period of 354 days,
slightly less than that of the Earth, which revolves around the
Sun in 365.2 days. By comparison, the object 1991 VG orbits the
Sun in a slightly greater period of 379.6 days. The objects move
in orbital paths parallel to the Earth like runners on a track.
They eventually overtake and pass one another, and we are left
to decide whether this is a purely natural circumstance or one
that is artificial=85and if artificial whether it is an accident
of our own space program or deliberate on the part of someone or
something.

Long Delayed Echoes

The idea that one or more extraterrestrial probes might be
located in our solar system is nothing new.

In 1927 ham radio operators began noticing a phenomenon they
termed Long Delayed Echoes (LDEs), the reflection of their own
radio signals after an odd and unexpected delay. Most echoes
came back after about three seconds, though some intervals were
as brief as a quarter-second and others as long as 30 seconds.
The phenomenon was frequently reported during the 1930s, =9240s,
and =9250s, and is still reported today. Numerous theories were
put forth by way of explanation. These included the notion that
radio signals were somehow being trapped in the ionosphere and
forced into multiple orbits before returning to Earth. Other
explanations were that the echoes were the result of moon
bounce, were a hoax, or (and this was the most unusual) they
were RF signals rebroadcast by an extraterrestrial probe
orbiting somewhere beyond the Moon. According to this last
theory, the LDEs were the probe=92s way of drawing attention to
itself, letting us know that we aren=92t alone in the galaxy.

The mystery of the LDEs took an added twist in February 1960
when a mysterious blip appeared on radar operated by the North
American Air Defense System, which is today NORAD (North
American Aerospace Defense Command). The blip was of an object
with an estimated mass of 15 metric tons flying in a polar
orbit. It was tracked for three weeks and caused considerable
pandemonium within the Department of Defense. Then it vanished
as abruptly as it had appeared.

Months later, a story was circulated that the mystery object was
the second-stage booster for the top-secret Discoverer V
surveillance satellite, launched into polar orbit on August 13,
1959. Alas, the Discoverer second stage was nowhere near the
estimated size of the mystery satellite. In fact, the entire
fully-fueled Thor-Agena rocket used to launch the Discoverer had
a mass of only 8,470 pounds (less than four metric tons), a
fraction of the suspected mass of the unidentified object.

While DoD personnel worried over the presence of the mystery
satellite, ham radio operators again began hearing LDEs, which
some suspected were coming from the mysterious object.

Years later, the LDE phenomenon was investigated by Duncan
Lunan, a Scottish researcher who charted the original 1927 echo
patterns on an XY graph. His effort resulted in what he believed
was a map from an alien space probe=97a map showing the
constellation Bootes and the binary star system Epsilon Bootis,
located 203 light years from Earth. Unfortunately, the "star
map" was imprecise and disputed by professional astronomers, and
Lunan himself eventually backed away from his original
interpretation, labeling it "speculative."

Bracewell Probes

In 1960, the same year the mystery satellite appeared on radar,
a professor at Stanford University published a significant
article in the magazine Nature. The author was Ronald Bracewell,
and he proposed the idea that advanced civilizations could be
sending out automated spacecraft with the hope of making contact
with other advanced races. These probes, he said, would be self-
sufficient and possess a high degree of artificial intelligence.

After arriving in a new star system, a "Bracewell Probe" would
take up orbit in the star=92s habitable zone where it could scan
for narrow-band radio transmissions. If signals were discovered,
the probe would identify the source and re-broadcast the
contents unchanged in order to draw attention to itself.

Professor Bracewell correctly asserted that probes dispatched to
other solar systems would be able to communicate with an
indigenous culture in something close to real time, a delay of
no more than a few seconds, a decided advantage over any attempt
at communicating across the void of interstellar space. Data
stored aboard the probe could be easily transmitted in exchange
for data from the resident civilization. Even small artifacts
could be exchanged. Information obtained by the visiting probe
would be transmitted back across the interstellar gulf to the
parent star system.

The existence of Bracewell Probes is pure conjecture, but it is
conjecture based on sound reasoning. On the other hand, the
phenomenon of LDEs is undeniably real, as are the two unusual
objects moving in Earth-like orbits around the Sun. The chance
that both these objects=971991 VG and 2000 SG344=97are leftover
rocket boosters seems unlikely.

Are they Bracewell Probes? Sooner or later we are bound to find
out.

Curt Sutherly is the author of Strange Encounters (Llewellyn,
1996) and UFO Mysteries (Llewellyn, 2001). A native of
Pennsylvania, Curt is currently